Suy farewell to the p,rb, the place to meet nosr is at the club

Jointheclub
Suy farewell to the p,rb, the place to meet nosr is at the club.
DEIRDREMIJLROONEY
sisns in.
Ir
rivate members' clubs havc alu'a1's suffered from a
distinct lack ofcool. Perhapsit rvasthe leather armchairs;
the rustle of neu,spapers;the gentle snoring of retired
colonels; the overcooked food; or thc absence of
women. but these establishmentswcre not at the social
cutting edge. Well, that's all changing. Meet the new private
members' club aimcd at the seriousll'social.
In London, the trend kicked off back in 1985 n'ith The Groucho
Club, the verv antithesis of those stuflv Pall Mall leather and snuff
clubs. It's u'here, on one, probabll' 6,pical, night, Bono serenaded
Bill Clinton at the piano with "Happy Birthdal', Mr President";
rvhere author and columnist Tob.v Young (norv barred), Melr-vn
Bragg and chefAnthony Bourdain, rvho hangs out there rvith chef
crony Richard Corrigan, u'ere members, and acid-tongued columnist
Julie Burchill once held reign (though she maintains she rvasnever a
member). It's u'here careersin thc arts and media have been founded
- and floundered. Other like-minded clubs soon fbllorved - Soho
House led the arts pack (supposedly finance types are barred), with
its sister clubs, Shoreditch House, Babington House in Somerset,
and last year's launch of thc Group into Manhattan's hotspot, with
Soho House NY, in the Meatpacking district.
Closer to home, Dublin's nelest private club, Residenceopened
quiedy in June. Appropriately cnough, it's in a beautiful Georgian
building (reputedl'r' developer fohnnl' Ronan's favourite) on St
Stephen's Green, the epicenue of the city's old-sryle gentlemen's
clubs since the l.8th centur\'(but more of that later). For
restaurateur-t\\'insChris and Simon Stokes, the exclusi'r'eclub is a
natural extension of their restaurant Bang, around the corner.
Residence'sw'ebsitcpronounces: "Our boutique club n'ill appeal to
the late-night revellersu,ho wish to netrvork into tie earlv hours." It
aims to be, sat' the ts'ins, "a fir'e-star hotel *'ithout bedrooms". So
far, so good. The essence of a successful club, however, is its
membership, and Residence,u'ith links to The Unicorn, is rvellplaced to drarv the cream of Dublin sociery.
But, before \\'e get carried as'ar', u'hat is this trend all aboutl
According to clinical psychologist Leslie Shoemaker, the private club
"taps into our basic human need to belong". It's also hand.v for
net$'orking, "especially if .vou don't play golf, tcnnis, cricket, or go
sailing". In a u,a1,,saysShoemaker, "privatc clubs and memberships to
ottrer organisations, such as a golf club, are an eitension of the cliques
These clubs are geared
adolescentsset up during their teenage,vears".
to "meet our psvchological and business needs, making us feel
special,exclusive,and helping us to feel good about ourselves".
Women are a recent addition to this man's rvorld. Even the
Fitzwilliam Tennis Club only opened its doors to \\'omen members
as recendy as 1996. Yacht and golfclubs, uaditionally placesrvhere
judges, businessmenand millionaires rubbed shoulders, have also
been mostly male bastions. There are some notable exceptions,the
United Arts Club on Merrion Street counts Ladv Gregon', and
Countess Markievicz among its 1907 fbunding members. But it
50
n'asn't until 1993 that the Stcpher.r'sGreen Club became the first
Irish gentlemen'sclub to admit women. It u'asa popular move. Now
30 per ccnt of their mcmbership is fbmale, and Ra.vMooner,, club
manager, savs that, not onh' are \r'omen on the club's board, but
Nenvork Ireland Women in Businessholds its board meetings therc.
Since their amalgamation *ith the Hibcrnian United ServicesClub
back in 2005, this non-profit organisation (members are actuallv
part-o\rners of the building), has more than doubled its men.rbership,
from 580 to 1,400. And it's on a mission to rejuvenate and
regenerateitsell, though u'ithout jettisoning its old-u'orld cach6.
Larry Rt'an of Behaviour and Attitudes suggests that the
phenomenon has something to do rvith the fact that after centuries
of selFdenial, frugaliry and sparing (a hangover from thc famine,
perhapsf), rve Irish have embraced the notion of pamperir.rg
ourselves rvith extraordinary gusto. These clubs arc tapping inro
that. We have travelled the world, and are more discerning
consumersthan before. We rvant to bc seenquaffing the finest u'ine,
and savouring the finest food, shou'ing, he says: "I'm.not the
averagepunter. I u'ant better. I rvant more ." Yrp - rve're *'orth it.
It's about the all-round expericnce, believes Castle Lcslie's
Samantha Leslic, who has transformed hcr County Monaghan
famil.vhome (since 1665) into a luxury hotel (it plal'ed host to Paul
McCartney's ill-fated rvcdding to Heather Mills). "Private members'
clubs are the rvav of the future," she savs."People rvant placesthat
are experiencesrather than just places to stayr" She should knorv launched last vear, Club Castlc Leslie is alreadv halfway to its target
of 500 members.
The Odessa Club, an offshoot of the restaurant, appeared four
years ago. Its founders, rvho ou'n a portfolio of restaurants and
nightclubs, sa]'the-vjust wanted to create the kind of place they and
their friends l'ould like to go. "Our aim is to provide a rvide arrat'
of stuff," saysEoin Foyle, one of the founders. "There are meeting
rooms, screenings - )/ou can u'atch rugbl' matches here, movie
nights, gigs, rockumentaries, u'ine and cheese-tasting evenirrgs,
debates (eg, on The Lisbon Trean'), r'oga classes,and a nerv roof
garden." Iust off Dublin's Dame Srreet, "people use it as an ofhce
during the day". Then therc's the groove, u'hich is worth the
membership fee on its o*'n, s'ith monthh' live gigs b1' the likes of
Jape, Declan O'Rourke and Cathv l)aver'.
And there's one more littlc-knos'n plus. "I'm told the conquests
are unbelievable," says co-fbuddcr f.rv Bourkc. "Very much more
than in a regular nightclub. I'm tolcl that it's a good place to meet
\\,omen) and a good place to mcct men." For singletons,this may be
one ofthc biggestbenefitsofbuving into,r "curated" crorvd.
Meann'hile, in its ol'n bluc occ.rn, u ith third gcneration
members, an average age of :10 to -15. lncl 160 reciprocal clubs
around the globe, there's thc Stcplrcn'sGrcen Hibernian Club. If
you like old-fashioned decorunr. .rnd turn p.rlc at thc sight of denim,
this could be the club fbr vou. Not onlv rrc \'()u guaranteedto cross
paths rvith kindrcd spirits, r'ou rvill ;rlso h.rvc the opportunin' to go
I
INTI.]ECLUB
sith them to Punchestos'nRaces;to thc opert
tir-rblack tie, of course);to sit at the membcrs'
tirble, and to dir-re overlookir-rg Stephen's
Green. As fbr netl'orking - one vottng ntember
in the legal profbssior.rconfrded: "I hacl just
comc back from abroad, and u'as tolcl, I coulcl
go about findir.rga job the hard u'av,or thc cisv
u lr,. I chose the easv u'a1', and ioincd thc
Stcphen'sGrecn Club." (Bc u'arned:joining is
a long ar-rdc()nvolutcclprocess.)
Manager Rav Moono', fbrr-r-rerlvu'ith thc
K Club, mav have been "trrought irt its thc
catalvstof chl.rgc, to bring [thc club] into thc
2lst ccnturr"'. "You have to r-uovesith thc
to
tirncs," he savs.But don't cxpect thc ch.r[-r
l.rar.rgup its srnokir.rgjackcts quite vet. "()lds'orld traclitions are vcrv much alivc irr this
ch-rb.There is a l-rugcrnrrkct fbr tl-rcnr."
bcr-rcfits incltr.le
Otl-rer unbcatable
accornmodrtiot-t ir-r thcir ts'e lvc ttcu lr
reftrrbishcd rooms. hirlf of shich orerlook
S t c p h c n ' sG r c c r r. r t i t r s t€ 8 5 p c r I r i g l r t .
r\Iembcrshio.lnvonci I
r WHERE The Odessa Club. 13 Dame Coud, Dublin 2; www.odessaclub.ie
ANNUAL FEE €395; out of town, €200; overseas,€120 JOININGFEE €50. You
must be proposed by a member,and subsequentlyaccepted by the membership
committee MEMBERS Media; entrepreneurs;people in the arts f WHERE
ANNUAL FEE
Residence,41 St Stephen'sGreen, Dublin 2; www.residence.ie
out of town, €1,400; overseas,
Individual,€1,600 (+€1,000 spouse/partner);
out of town,
€1 ,200; corporate,€4,000 JOIN]NG FEE €250 individual/couple;
will
members
be invitedto
"Prospective
€225; overseas,€175; corporate,€625.
join by the directorsor via existingmembers"MEMBERSCEOs;stockbrokers;
selfemployed;archiiects;actors;media;Bono; Johnny RonanI WHERE Stephen's
ANNUALFEE
GreenHibernianClub, 9 St Stephen'sGreen,Dublin2;www.sghc.ie
€1,200; €650 countrymember(outside30 mile radius)
JOINING FEE €4OOROOM RATE €85 DRESS CODE
"Jacket and tie for men and equallysuitableattirefor the
may jeansor trainersbe
Iadies.Underno circumstances
worn in the club."An existingmemberof five yearsmust
proposeyou, secondedby a memberof more than one
year,Yourapplicationgoes beforea boardof 19, and then
an electioncommitteeof 23 MEMBERSLegalprofession;
entrepreneurs/self-employed;
CEOsof banks;gardeners;
BillCullenr WHEREClub Castle Leslie,Co Monaghan;
N N U A LF E E I n d i v i d u a€l ,1 , 8 0 0 ,
w w w c a s t l e l e s l i e . c oAm
Ri
€1,000; corporate, 6)
couple.€3.000; Europeanmembership,€1,200; international,
!
E
€12.000:foundinglife membership,€50,000 JOININGFEE 1.5 times annualfee
J
3
MEMBER'S DAILY RATE €300 for 24 hours. "All your accommodation,breakfast, f
-rch. d nner.afternoontea, bacon buttres,champagnereception,the bar,fishing,
form available
coa: ag. ailer dinnerdrinksand chocolates"are included.Application
:^'e
Crteria seems to be that you "get it". You'llknow MEMBERS Business
3€cc e. GeraldKeanand LisaMurphy
I